Magnetic railroads of the above-described class reach very high travel speeds of up to 500 km/h. The magnetic railroad vehicles travel on track supports which in turn lie on pillars and/or foundations set up on subsoil (ground).
The track supports must guarantee that all the loads occurring during travel can be supported and reliably transmitted into the substructures (pillars and foundations) and the subsoil.
Because of the high travel speeds and the requirements imposed in terms of travel comfort, the track supports must very closely follow the predetermined route in terms of the location of the line and the gradients (i.e., the nominal line of the track). This applies especially to the accuracy of location of the functional surfaces and functional components which are required for travel on the track supports.
The track supports require essentially the following functional surfaces and components for the magnetic train operation:
side guide rails whose distance forms the gage, PA1 sliding planes for depositing the vehicle, and PA1 structural components to which the stators of linear motors are fastened by means of which the magnetic effect is produced.
The prior art track supports consist of steel beams or prestressed concrete beams.
Two fundamentally different designs of track supports made from steel are known. In one of the prior art embodiments, the above-mentioned three functional components are three individual parts which must be connected to each other and to the steel track supports by means of bolts in extremely accurate positions. In the second embodiment, known from DE-C-3,404,061, the above-mentioned three functional components are integral parts of the welded steel track support.
The prior art track supports made from concrete consist of prestressed concrete beams, in which steel anchor bodies, which serve as structural components for connecting (fastening) the stators in the correct position, are embedded in concrete. The steel side guide rails are mounted in a subsequent, separate operation after producing the prestressed concrete beams.
It was found in the prior art prestressed concrete beams discussed that fastening the steel side guide rails to the prestressed concrete beams is very expensive, and the durability of the connection does not meet the requirements imposed. This equally applies to the design and the ability to function of the sliding planes.
The steel support design with the functional components bolted onto it requires very high expenditures for production and corrosion protection. Even though the all-welded steel support design is more favorable in terms of corrosion protection, the high accuracy of location required for the functional components can be achieved only with expensive measures in production, just as in the case of the prestressed concrete supports.
Besides the inevitable work tolerances, the thickness tolerances of the steel lateral guide rails, which occur during the production of these rails in the roll mill, are the essential cause for the necessary measures in the manufacture of the track supports. These thickness tolerances are already on the same order of magnitude as the tolerances allowable for the finished track support structure.
Further essential factors to be taken into account in designing and manufacturing the track support are the absolute necessity to conform with the nominal shape of the track and the deformations occurring as a consequence of traffic loads and different temperature distributions in the supports, which are caused, e.g., by exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, the deformations of the track support must be reduced to a minimum because of the high travel speeds and the required travel comfort.